Auckland Airport shares touching video of loved ones reuniting at the aviation hub.
Opinion by Sarah Pollok
Sarah Pollok, Multimedia Journalist at New Zealand’s Herald, specialises in covering stories on travel and tourism, travelling as close as Waiheke and far as Ecuador for work.
Auckland Airport has released a Love Actually-inspired video for the summer season, as it expects 1.8 million travellers.
The video shows heartfelt reunions; 40% of arrivals are visiting friends or family.
Airport staff highlight the joy and energy of reuniting loved ones during this busy period.
Auckland Airport has released a campaign video inspired by the film Love Actually ahead of a summer season when 1.8 million travellers are expected to pass through the airport.
It’s a scene as iconic as the pottery wheel scene in Ghost or the shower scene in Psycho; the opening minutes of 2003 (yes, it’s that old) romantic comedy Love Actually.
Over heart-warming clips of parents, children, lovers and friends reuniting at Heathrow Airport, we hear Hugh Grant’s beautifully British voice talking about the power of love.
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport,” Grant says. “General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere.”
This summer, Auckland Airport expects 1.8 million people to pass through the terminals from December 9 to January 12: 1 million international and 800,000 domestic. Of those arriving in Aotearoa, almost half (40%) are visiting friends or family.
In response, the airport has produced a two-minute video inspired by Love Actually’s opening scene, showing multiple clips of Kiwis hugging, kissing and crying as they reunite at the airport.
One woman waits in arrivals for her mother to appear, her partner holding their 7-week-old baby who will soon meet their grandmother for the first time. Two young men clutch fresh red roses as they wait for their cousins to arrive from Afghanistan, while another woman excitedly looks out for her sister.
There are vibrant bouquets and teddy bears, hand-painted signs and boxes of Ferrero Rocher chocolate. There are heavy rucksacks and forehead kisses, couples sprinting towards one another, grandparents kneeling as toddlers toddle towards them; people unable to bear another minute apart and it is as gorgeous and hopeful as those iconic Love Actually scenes.
Because Hugh Grant was right, it’s easy to get gloomy; it sometimes can appear like the world is nothing but anger, polarisation and selfishness. But there is also childlike enthusiasm and commitment, tender anticipation and big, bold, totally unnecessary demonstrations of love.
Demonstrations that people like Emma Johannsson and Kim Mann, who are the managers and ambassadors of Auckland Airport customer service, witness every day.
“Every day I get to see families embrace each other and giving each other warm hugs and big kisses and it’s really really nice to see, especially at this time of year,” Johannsson said.
“I just love the vibe and the buzz and the energy out at the airport, it’s a wonderful place to be,” Mann added.
During this time of year, Auckland Airport chief operations officer Chloe Surridge said the airport was proud of the part it plays in reuniting loved ones.
“The best part about this time of year is helping to reconnect families. We’re proud of the important role we get to play here,” she said.
This isn’t the first time the airport has looked similar to the romantic film. In 2022, the Herald captured several heartfelt reunions from families and loved ones who had been separated for years because of the Covid pandemic lockdowns.
